School Transport

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 January 2021

Wednesday, 27 January 2021

Questions (478, 479)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

478. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education the number of applications her Department received for the reimbursement of the agreed mileage rate under the July provision transportation grant; the number that were accepted and rejected, respectively; the number of reimbursement payments that have been made to date; the value of the payments paid out to date; the value of the payments outstanding; the value of the largest reimbursement payment application accepted; the value of the largest reimbursement payment made to date under this grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4341/21]

Catherine Connolly

Question:

479. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education the timeline for the reimbursement of the agreed mileage rate under the July provision transportation grant; the reason for the ongoing delays in reimbursement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4342/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I propose to take Questions Nos. 478 and 479 together.

School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 113,100 children, including over 14,500 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.

The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.

With regard to transport arrangements for the Summer Programme, my Department committed to providing grant funding to support families with the cost of transport arrangements for those children who were eligible for school transport and who were approved to participate in the school based Summer Programme.

All families who were eligible for transport at that time and who availed of the school based Summer Programme 2020 are entitled to recieve the grant in question. School Transport Section has commenced processing payment of these grants to the families in queston. Payment has been made to approximately 200 families to date, with the remaining families for whom payee details have been received to be paid in the coming week.

Full details of the costs paid to families in relation to this grant will be availible once all grants have been processed.